Mexico official: 7 people arrested in jailbreak of drug lord

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican federal official said Friday that seven people who were being questioned in the jailbreak of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have been formally arrested and taken to a prison to await charges.

The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, did not specify whether those arrested were prison guards or other officials in the penitentiary system.

About three dozen people have been taken in for questioning; it was unclear if more would be charged.

Images from El Chapo's escape tunnel:

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Mexico official: 7 people arrested in jailbreak of drug lord

Federal Police officers stand guard inside a half-built house where drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape through a tunnel from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A motorcycle adapted to a rail sits in the tunnel under the half-built house where according to authorities, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A Mexican Federal Police officer crouches inside the tunnel where according to authorities drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Two Mexican lawmakers say at least 18 minutes had elapsed from when Mexico's most prized prisoner slipped into a mile-long tunnel Saturday night and when authorities became aware. An official with the National Security Commission said he would try to confirm the figure, but did not think it was that much time. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Mexican Federal Police officers stand guard at the exit of a tunnel where according to authorities drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Two Mexican lawmakers say at least 18 minutes had elapsed from when Mexico's most prized prisoner slipped into a mile-long tunnel Saturday night and when authorities became aware. An official with the National Security Commission said he would try to confirm the figure, but did not think it was that much time. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A Mexican Federal Police officer crouches as he walks through the tunnel that according to authorities drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman used to make his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Two Mexican lawmakers say at least 18 minutes had elapsed from when Mexico's most prized prisoner slipped into a mile-long tunnel Saturday night and when authorities became aware. An official with the National Security Commission said he would try to confirm the figure, but did not think it was that much time. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Federal Police officer stands in the tunnel where according to authorities drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Two Mexican lawmakers say at least 18 minutes had elapsed from when Mexico's most prized prisoner slipped into a mile-long tunnel Saturday night and when authorities became aware. An official with the National Security Commission said he would try to confirm the figure, but did not think it was that much time. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

This photo shows the shower area where authorities claim drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, slipped into a tunnel to escape from his prison cell at the Altiplano maximum security prison, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The photo shows the interior of the cell occupied by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, from where authorities claim he escaped via a tunnel in his shower cell, at the Altiplano maximum security prison, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. In the top left corner is a security camera. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A Mexican authority climbs a ladder to exit the tunnel that according to authorities, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman used to escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Thursday, July 16, 2015. Two Mexican lawmakers say at least 18 minutes had elapsed from when Mexico's most prized prisoner slipped into a mile-long tunnel Saturday night and when authorities became aware. An official with the National Security Commission said he would try to confirm the figure, but did not think it was that much time. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A Mexican authority climbs up a ladder leading to the exit of the tunnel that was used by Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, Mexico, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

The photo shows the opening of a tunnel, authorities claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to escape from inside his cell at the Altiplano maximum security prison, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A journalist reports from the exit of the tunnel that according to authorities, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman used to escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A journalist climbs a ladder to get out of the tunnel that according to authorities, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman used to escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Journalists exit the tunnel where according to authorities drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A motorcycle adapted to a rail sits in the tunnel under the half-built house where according to authorities, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel in his prison cell. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The exit of the tunnel that according to authorities was used by Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison is seen in Almoloya, Mexico, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman after he escaped through an underground tunnel leading from his prison cell's shower area. (AP Photo/Mario Vazquez de la Torre)

In this photo provided by Mexico's attorney general, authorities inspect the exit of the tunnel they claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to break out of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday, July 12, 2015. A massive manhunt is underway after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through the tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country's top security official announced. (Mexico's Attorney General's Office via AP)

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The drug lord sneaked out of the Altiplano prison, Mexico's highest-security facility, through a tunnel on July 11.

The office of Attorney General Arely Gomez issued a statement late Thursday confirming that the United States filed an extradition request for Guzman on June 25, about 2 ½ weeks before he escaped.

Guzman faces U.S. charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine.

The office said Gomez had issued instructions to review the request and submit it to courts for consideration. The appeals process can stretch out extradition proceedings for years.

Former Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said earlier that Mexico wouldn't extradite Guzman until after he had served time for all his crimes in Mexico.

Murillo Karam told The Associated Press earlier this year that the U.S. would get Guzman in "about 300 or 400 years."

Mexico has blamed the escape on a combination of Guzman's skill at building tunnels, and misconduct or corruption that allowed his people to get their hands on the blueprints for the prison and tunnel directly into his shower stall undetected.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who had traveled to France for an official visit when Guzman escaped, returned to Mexico and said in a speech Friday that the prison escape has caused "indignation, frustration, anger in broad sectors of society."

But in what appeared be a reference to questions about why no high-ranking official has been fired in relation to the escape, Pena Nieto said "We are not going to solve this issue by getting angry, and filling ourselves with rage."

"The only way to answer this insult without doubt is by recapturing this criminal," he said.